VIEWPOINT

 THE RESERVATIONS

The Government Order

Based on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission the government has ordered 27 percent reservation in jobs of the central government and public undertakings of the centre, for people belonging to socially and educationally backward castes. These are the popularly known middle castes or peasant castes.

The argument. is this: these reservations are not for economic betterment. These are meant to enhance social respectability and create attraction for education among the backward castes, so as to take this society toward eradicating their social and educational backwardness.

It is true that the order came very suddenly. It was not on the agenda. But this may also be true that it would not have materialised had the then ruling party first tried to discuss its implementation with other parties. It may even be seen as an act of sheer political opportunism dictated by electoral calculations and needs of handling peasant opposition. But this is what today’s politics is. And what if it proves to be the starting point of a grand success story.

The Opposition

Students are spearheading the opposition. In a careerist world in which bulk of the opportunities lie in government jobs, the interest of the upper caste student have obviously been affected. And upper caste students are the great majority in universities and colleges in the metropolises. So it is notable that the opposition is concentrated in large cities and big universities. Students of professional colleges and those with background in English have been most active. Delhi has taken the lead. Even placards were in English. This in a way shows the strength of the entrenched classes. However their cause is genuine and the government is responsible both for the damage to public property and casualties due to police firing.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has also. Opposed the reservations. They are surely not an affected party. If at all, they stand to gain for such a measure is likely to divert merit toward private business. FICCI’s opposition only shows the combination of caste and class in the ruling formations of this country:

Opposition by teachers is opportunistic too. Most of them have entered their present profession through invisible reservation channels through the use of money, kinship and other forms of social power. Those who could never raise their voice against Capitation fees are today opposing the caste based reservations.

Almost all the political parties had approved the Mandal Commission report. They are opposing today its implementation in the name of economic criteria and in the name of saving the nation from being divided on caste basis. The truth is that the manner of its implementation has hurt them politically.

The Issues

(1) The chief argument of the opposition is that such reservation disregards merit, and this is     undesirable in absolute terms. It is also argued that giving back seat to merit shall adversely affect the national development. Money and kinship have been violating this merit for long but that obviously cannot be. an argument for its further violation. But if this merit has been in the service of the nation for last 40 years, if this merit has been the basis of all development since Independence then perhaps there is reason to doubt its credence. One wonders whether it is in spite of this merit that our educational, administrative and industrial structures are dysfunctioning the way they are or is it because of this merit which partakes neither of social commitment nor of any moral standards. Merit so conceived is a non-moral, non-social, non-national concept. Such merit is in fact only a smoke screen for collecting the spoil of the system, at present the government jobs. If merit had ever been the criterion then the traditional craftsmen would never have been neglected. Is this merit not strange, respect to which has amounted to the emasculation  of all traditional skills, Agriculturist, blacksmith, potter, weaver name any, and the skilledmen shall be found hard up for two proper meals.

      This system has never been based on any genuine merit. Only those are considered meritorious who can to some extent manage to operate an imported system of administration, industry and education etc. Considerations of this merit shall always keep the bulk of the Indian population outside the privileged. functions.

(2) It is being charged that such a reservation shall divide the whole society along caste lines. The point is that this society is already divided along caste lines. The upper castes are occupying the positions of privilege and this hasdivided society oppressively along caste-lines. It is only when privilege in society shall be evenly distributed and not be a monopoly of some castes, that the oppressive character of caste-divisions may be reduced or ultimately eliminated. If reservations lead to clashes among castes and even to caste-war the responsibility shall rest on political opportunism and the privileged castes and not on backward castes.

(3) Consideration of economic criteria is well in the debate because it is being pushed by major political parties. They want some kind of economic ceiling on eligibility for reservation. It is said that if such ceiling is not imposed poorer people will not benefit at all and all the places shall be cornered by some advanced sections, in the 3 or 4  major backward castes. This is true, this is what will happen. But the point is that this reservation policy is not for economic uplift, it is not a policy for eradication of poverty, its considerations are social in nature. It intends to break the monopoly of power and privilege of certain castes. Without the economic ceiling power shall go to castes which  are already contending for power. This irks the powers that be. Inclusion of lower sections into power structure does not effectively challenge anything.Also if economic ceiling is imposed perhaps it will not be possible to fill the 27 percent quota. One should not be surprised if this is a concealed consideration behind the proposition.

(4) Sri Vishwanath Pratap Singh is being attacked for unbounded political oppor- tunism. He is being charged that such an important policy measure is announced only to take care of opposition within the ruling party and from outside and with an eye on elections. All this may be true. But all other political parties are playing an equally opportunistic game. Only, he seems to have beaten them all in this game at this juncture. Politics in this country today is another name of opportunism and between political parties there is little to choose so far as this is concerned.

The Debate

So, as we see, the issues are very limited. The concept of reservation is not attacked but only the present policy is questioned. The debate is limited to what should be the basis of reservation. What social and economic considerations should be there while determining the beneficiaries of reservations? So, there is discussion on reservation for poor, for Muslims, for women etc. At the root of all this is a concept of backwardness which is shared by both the pro and anti-reservationists. Both agree that the peasant castes are socially and educationally backward and that for thousands of years they have been deprived of education and social status. Among the educated there is such remarkable agreement over this that one is forced to think that this must be either absolute truth or a total myth. This is what modern education has done to us, equipped us with a point of view which is based upon a total falsification of our history. The bare truth is that these so-called backward castes were socially respectable and politically powerful until the British changed this society from one based on agriculture and local self-governance to one worshipping modern industry and subjected to a totally centralised rule. It was this transformation which made the agriculturists, the artisans and the workers backward. Backward because the dominant world view sees human history in terms of a linear chain of events, Europe and America denoting the most advanced stages toward which all societies must gravitate. So by the same token by which we are a backward country, the labouring, cultivating and in general skilled castes are the backward castes because they are outside modern industry and education within this country. So the very concept of backwardness implies reservation. This is to bring in those who are left outside or left behind. But if we do not think in terms of being left outside or left behind, totally different solutions may come to the fore to remove a condition which is surely undesirable.

When people are left outside they should be brought in. This is effected by reservation in respectable jobs which bring them into the existing structures of social and political power. But another way to effect the same is by taking the social and political power to those who are left outside. By attaching greater importance to agriculture by making it more profitable and by political and economic decentralisation a far greater effect can be produced. Taking the people to the power structure is in fact the wrong way of doing it, it is the power structure which should be taken to the people. These are the two models which were in clash during the Independence struggle. One is the Westminister model and the other Gandhi’s Swaraj. But this is not even in debate. However, to start this debate one will have to first understand that the so-called backward castes became backward during the British rule, they were truly the builders and rulers of traditional India. To take power structures to them is truly an act of historical justice and not an act of charity or political manipulation.

The other very important fact is that the middle classes are already pushed against the wall. The number of educated youth is constantly increasing and the job opportunities are limited. The basic and the widespread problem is that of employment, of respectable sources of livelihood. Jobs can be generated in far greater number only through economic decentralisation, through a new industrial policy which envisages the far and wide spread of industry which is based on local resources, finance and skill, and not on  import of the Western model. The industrial policy of new government is exactly  opposite of this but not a word has been raised in opposition. It is only when  students gather around such issues and demand a new education policy which is not just a third rate copy of a Western model, that a debate on genuine issues may take  place. The opposition to reservation is showing no signs, so far, of snowballing into  any such possibility, but it cannot be ruled out.

So the debate that has taken shape as a result of the present reservation policy is  extremely limited. It is limited because it is being governed by the interests of very  limited privileged classes. This also tends to govern the outcome or the consequences.

The Consequences

This is not to prophesy but to surmise on some possible outcomes of this reservation policy. We shall, therefore, in what follows discuss very briefly the social, economic and political consequences of the present reservation policy, if implemented as announced. 

(1) It will enhance the social respectability of these castes. Share in managerial and secretarial power is expected to have a chain reaction in two directions. One, the reach of these castes into unreserved areas of employment may increase and two, the scheduled castes and tribes may expect better treatment in corridors of power and in society. Atleast this is the expectation they seem to have while joining the pro-reservationists in the present divide. This is unlikely to promote casteism further. On the contrary it may ultimately lead to lesser and lesser caste considerations perhaps as a result of balance in caste power. 

(2) The direct economic consequence may not be considerable. Families that mayhave access to this reservation are unlikely to be from economically backward sections. But secondary and tertiary effects could be fairly large. Managerial  and secretarial power in the hands of the middle castes may have a salutary effect in general on the economic condition of these and other lower castes. 

(3) The political consequences are most difficult to anticipate. Although it is not very likely, it is not impossible that the present opposition snowballs into something very big and destabilises and present polity. This can happen by challenging the role of political parties and their opportunism. It is particularly possible if peasants especially from Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh join the opposition. However the more likely result seems to be a stabilization of the polity. For more than twenty years now the polity has been unstable because of the rise of the peasantry and the backward classes, particularly of the North. This reservation may prove to be a turning point and start a process of adjustment which results in political stability. There are clear attempts at establishing an alliance between scheduled castes, tribals, backward classes, Muslims and also women. This is a political attempt for the purpose of elections. This coupled with the broadening of the ruling base may lead to some breakthrough in the party politics but it will essentially lead to political stability. The nation may be well on the way to modernization, not to look back again. But the above alliance is too potent and explosive to be contained by political manoeuvring; either it will break down before long or take the nation on an unchartered course, to destinies which are decidedly better than the present and not known or heard of in Western history or utopias. 

Sunil Sahasrabudhey 

Gandhian Institute of Studies

Varanasi